The small border traffic (novel)

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The small border traffic is a novel by Erich Kästner , which appeared for the first time in 1938 under the title Georg und die Incident .

action

The Berlin writer Georg Rentmeister wants to meet his friend Karl in Salzburg in August 1937 to visit the Salzburg Festival with him . The foreign exchange regulations between Germany and Austria at this time only allowed the import of ten Reichsmarks per month. Since 33.3333333 pfennigs per day are not enough to live on for 30 days, Georg requests a larger sum from the foreign exchange office . However, this is not granted to him until his departure, and Georg decides to use the small border traffic: he rents a room at the Hotel Axelmannstein in Bad Reichenhall and from then on commutes daily by bus to Salzburg.

Georg spends his ten Reichsmarks on Mozart balls , postcards and pretzels on the first day and is therefore now dependent on the money of his friend Karl, who lives in London and for whom the strict currency regulations do not apply. When Karl does not show up for an appointment the next day due to a misunderstanding, Georg finds himself in distress because he can not pay for the coffee he has already drunk . He asks Miss Konstanze, who is sitting nearby, for help. Georg immediately falls in love with the young lady, who introduces herself to him as the chambermaid of a count's family. The count's family is currently traveling and has rented the house and its staff to rich Americans during the festival .

Konstanze and Georg spend their free time together and Georg immediately proposes marriage to Konstanze , which she happily accepts. But then Karl tells him that he saw Konstanze with another man in the casino the night before . Both would be very familiar with each other and were addressed as "Herr Graf" and "Komtesse". Georg, disappointed, retires to the hotel, where the other man is already waiting for him, who finally introduces himself to him as Constance's brother and clears up the misunderstanding. Konstanze is not a housemaid at all, but a noblewoman. The entire family is currently taking on the role of servants to an American millionaire family who are staying in their home. The old Count , an amateur writer , had this sitcom devised to collect ideas for his latest piece.

Georg is also invited to the castle and to take part in the play to present the unsuspecting count and father of Constance. When the American family uncovered the secret liaison between George and Constance, the old count was forced to “dismiss” Constanze in order not to lose his role. The supposedly indignant Georg kidnaps his Constance; Only two days later do they both return to the castle together and celebrate the happy engagement with the family . The American millionaires meanwhile enlighten the astonished Count that they knew about the comedy all along. When Georg finally arrives back in Berlin, he has a foreign exchange permit for the summer trip to Salzburg in the post.

style

Erich Kästner introduces the story in his preface to the readers (the foreword of the first edition) by explaining that the book is the diary of his (fictional) friend Georg Rentmeister. He is a writer himself, but has never published anything. Since he liked the manuscript so much, he sent it to a publisher who eventually published it. The novel is accordingly told from Georg Rentmeister's first-person narrative situation . The sentence structure mostly consists of simple and short sentences, which are enriched with a few stylistic means such as Zeugmen ("This time you want to see him and he should see some performances") or metaphors ("The rain pattered mockingly against the window").

Background and publication history

Erich Kästner was banned from publication in Germany by the National Socialists in 1933, but was allowed to continue to publish abroad due to the success of his translations in order to generate income for the foreign exchange-poor country. Kästner, whose works were from now on under special observation, initially devoted himself primarily to entertainment literature . He wrote Der kleine Grenzverkehr in the summer of 1937, when Germany and Austria were separated by border posts. When the book appeared in Switzerland in 1938, Austria was already part of the German Empire . The story is based on Kästner's own experience with border traffic. In 1937 he met his friend and illustrator Walter Trier , who had emigrated to London, at the Salzburg Festival. Both were planning a joint book that was to appear for the next Salzburg Festival: The Little Border Traffic . Just like Georg Rentmeister, Kästner also rented a room in Bad Reichenhall at this time, drove a half-hour bus ride for weeks, through two passport and customs controls daily to Salzburg and was dependent on the money from Trier. The book was a hit with audiences.

In 1942, Kästner received special permission from Reich Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels to write the script for the jubilee film for the twenty-fifth anniversary of UFA under the pseudonym “Berthold Bürger” . After initial skepticism, Kästner agreed and suggested the film adaptation of Münchhausen . After this success, Kästner also wrote a script for local border traffic . Ufa cast Willy Fritsch and Hertha Feiler in the film . When Hitler found out who was hiding behind the pseudonym Berthold Bürger, he had the name deleted and imposed a final and comprehensive writing ban.

Film adaptations

radio play

Audio book

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Erich Kästner: The small border traffic or Georg and the incidents. 4th edition, unabridged edition dtv, Munich 1990. ISBN 3-423-11010-4 , p. 17
  2. ↑ Erich Kästner: The small border traffic or Georg and the incidents. 4th edition, unabridged edition dtv, Munich 1990. ISBN 3-423-11010-4 , pp. 44f.
  3. ↑ David Trapp: Erich Kästner - The small border traffic. Book review. http://school.cherrytree.at/_files/Grenzverkehr.pdf Accessed: July 5, 2011
  4. ↑ Klaus Kordon: Time is broken - The life story of Erich Kästner. Beltz and Gelberg, Weinheim 1998. ISBN 3-407-78782-0 , p. 160
  5. ↑ Klaus Kordon: Time is broken - The life story of Erich Kästner. Beltz and Gelberg, Weinheim 1998. ISBN 3-407-78782-0 , pp. 175ff.
  6. ↑ Klaus Kordon: Time is broken - The life story of Erich Kästner. Beltz and Gelberg, Weinheim 1998. ISBN 3-407-78782-0 , pp. 190ff.